Are you wondering how to get pregnant faster? These are 19 of the best pregnancy tips trying to conceive to help you get pregnant faster.
If you’re wondering how to get pregnant faster then this blog post is just for you. While it won’t tell you exactly how to conceive a girl or a boy, it is full of pre pregnancy tips including specific conceiving tips, lifestyle changes and things you should do now to get your body ready for pregnancy.
This post is all about pregnancy tips trying to conceive.
Pregnancy Tips Trying To Conceive
1 – Start taking prenatal vitamins with folic acid
This is one of my top pre pregnancy tips because you never know when you’re going to get pregnant.
Prenatal vitamins are critically important during pregnancy and provide essential nutrients for the development of your baby. Folic acid, calcium and iron are among many important nutrients included in prenatals.
Folic acid is particularly important and helps prevent neural tube defects and iron is an important nutrient that supports the development of the placenta and fetus.
Prenatals are usually over the counter but your doctor may recommend a specific brand.
Most doctors recommend you start taking prenatal vitamins while trying to conceive that way the fetus is nourished from the start. This can help prevent neural tube defects and other disorders that develop during the first trimester of pregnancy.
2 – Reduce caffeine intake
Caffeine doesn’t need to be completely avoided but it’s a good idea to start cutting back while trying to conceive given you don’t know when you will actually get pregnant.
The recommended amount of caffeine during pregnancy is 200mg. This is equal to about two cups of coffee and might be significantly less than what you consumed pre-pregnancy when you weren’t trying to conceive.
When you drink caffeine during pregnancy, it passes through the placenta to your baby. You may actually feel more sensitive to caffeine in pregnancy too and it’s surprisingly a drink most women end up avoiding during the first trimester. Some can’t stomach it while others can only tolerate a small amount only after they’ve eaten.
3 – Drink more water
It is so important for you to stay hydrated during pregnancy and when trying to conceive. Believe it or not, you will actually need MORE water when pregnant so you can form the amniotic fluid, produce extra blood, build new tissue, carry nutrients, keep your digestion flowing and eliminate wastes and toxins.
4 – Stop using birth control
Unless you’re instructed to do so by your doctor, you should stop taking birth control when trying to conceive. This might be one of the more obvious pregnancy tips when trying to conceive but if you’re trying to conceive naturally this is necessary.
Some doctors recommend stopping it at least three months prior to conceiving to give time for the hormones to work their way out of your body. But other doctors don’t give a timeline.
Thankfully, there’s no weaning period. If you know you want to start trying to conceive and are taking birth control, all you need to do is stop taking it. It really doesn’t require planning and doesn’t have to fall on a certain day of your cycle.
5 – Check your prescription medicine and skincare products
Now is a good time to take a look at your prescription medicine and skincare products. Certain ingredients and medicine need to be avoided during pregnancy, so it’s important for you to start doing research in combination with talking to your doctor.
Even ibuprofen should be avoided during pregnancy as it is known to increase the risk of miscarriage and damage to fetal blood vessels.
6 – Cut back on drinking alcohol
It’s definitely recommended to avoid drinking alcohol during pregnancy because alcohol has been known to cause miscarriage, stillbirth and a variety of other disabilities. But drinking alcohol pre-pregnancy is a little bit of a gray area.
Some doctors recommend you stop drinking if you’re trying to conceive while others (mine included) are supportive of a minimal amount until you know you’re pregnant. If you are trying to conceive, it is always recommended that you consult your doctor before you pour that glass of wine.
Related: 4 Easy Pregnancy Mocktails for Any Season
7 – Establish healthy eating habits
Your health is even more important now than ever before because it’s not just about you, it’s about your baby too.
You can make a big difference in your baby’s life and your pregnancy and postpartum journey by nourishing your body with nutrient dense foods. This will also help you gain a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy and hopefully help you feel better throughout your pregnancy. You will also benefit from it during your postpartum journey as well.
8 – Avoid eating high mercury fish
High mercury fish is a food you will need to avoid during pregnancy so why not start limiting it when trying to conceive?
Mercury can accumulate in your bloodstream and too much can lead to damage of your baby’s developing brain and nervous system. Make sure you talk to your doctor if you have questions about whether or not a type of fish is safe to eat.
- Fish to Avoid: Swordfish, shark, king mackerel, tilefish, shark, tuna (bigeye), mahi mahi
- Safe Fish to Eat: Salmon, tilapia, shrimp, cod, catfish, scallops, trout (freshwater), tuna (canned light, white tuna, yellowfin), clams, crab, Atlantic mackerel, haddock, flounder
9 – Maintain healthy weight/BMI
Maintaining a healthy weight pre-pregnancy and when trying to conceive is very important for your fertility. A healthy weight lowers your chances of having gestational diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy.
10 – Discuss any pre-existing conditions with your doctor
It’s important to schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss any pre-existing conditions and how that may impact your fertility and future pregnancies.
It will benefit you to have any conditions you’re dealing with under control before you add a baby to the mix.
11 – Understand your family’s medical history
In addition to discussing any pre-existing conditions with your doctor, this is a good time to talk to family members and understand your family’s medical history, especially on your mother’s side.
Here are some questions to start the conversation:
- What was her pregnancy like?
- Did she have any complications?
- How was her childbirth experience?
- Do any diseases run in your family?
12 – Think about finances and work expectations
Having a baby can be a huge expense between all of the prenatal care, tests and actually giving birth, so it’s always a good idea to get a handle on the finances upfront.
Think about how you will pay for all of these things plus diapers, wipes, formula (unless you will be breastfeeding), daycare, and all the extra supplies you will inevitably need for your baby.
Now is the perfect time to start discussing and planning your finances.
You will also want to think about work expectations as well. Will you and your partner remain working full time or will one of you cut back to part time or even leave your job to stay home with your baby? This can greatly impact the financial position you’re in now so make sure you consider and discuss the different possibilities.
13 – Catch up on sleep
You will want to get as much sleep as possible before you get pregnant. Your sleep patterns will be impacted by pregnancy (hello pregnancy insomnia) plus once your baby arrives you won’t be sleeping through the night for several weeks to months.
Now is the perfect time to catch up on sleep and really enjoy the downtime in preparation for changes that are about to come.
14 – Choose the right health insurance plan
This is a good time to verify and/or change your coverage and benefits when open enrollment begins. As noted above, having a baby can be a huge expense so if you know you will be trying to conceive, it’s good to choose the insurance plan that makes the most sense for your family. This typically means a higher plan but you might also have the ability to put money in a health savings account that can help you pay for your prenatal care, hospital stay, etc.
Keep in mind that if you are planning to breastfeed, many insurance providers cover the cost of a breast pump (which isn’t cheap!) so it’s definitely worth checking out. Aeroflow Breast Pumps makes it SO easy to see what you qualify for and actually order your pump!
15 – Figure out your stress remedy
Pregnancy and postpartum come with a lot of hormonal changes and new stressors. Pre-pregnancy is a good time to start taking preventative measures and develop healthy ways to relieve stress.
This could be reading, taking a bath, doing yoga or working out, going for a walk, listening to a podcast, or meeting a friend for lunch. There are so many different ways to handle stress so figure out works best for you and start incorporating it regularly into your life.
16 – Determine when you ovulate and/or start tracking
Once you stop taking birth control, it’s important to start tracking your cycle to determine when you ovulate. Usually it occurs mid cycle but it really differs from person to person.
You can start simple with an app or a pen and paper and simply track your cycle, symptoms, mucus discharge and any other bodily changes that take place during your cycle.
If you want to get even more scientific, you can purchase ovulation test sticks. These detect a rise in luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. A rise in this hormone signals your ovary to release the egg. These are the ovulation test strips that helped me get pregnant with my second baby.
If you’re wondering how to pregnant faster, my #1 tip is to determine when you’re ovulating. It takes the guesswork out of it and really determines the one to two day window when you’re most fertile.
17 – Start an exercise routine
This is one of my favorite pregnancy tips whether you are trying to conceive or not. Exercise has so many benefits for both you and your baby. I speak from experience when I say that both my mental and physical health have improved since working out regularly.
If you haven’t worked out before, it’s ok to start slow and just start incorporating walking a few times a week. There’s no need to put pressure on yourself to begin a crazy workout routine.
The important thing is to start moving your body and doing a form of exercise that you enjoy. Before you know it, it will become part of your routine!
This is my favorite prenatal workout plan that I highly recommend you start with when you’re pregnant. There are also tons of regular workout plans that you can easily modify or intensify to your liking.
18 – Have the “big” discussion with your partner
I think it goes without saying that you and your husband need to be on the same page about having kids before trying to conceive.
Although you don’t have to make decisions about exactly how many kids you want, it is important to communicate with your spouse and really understand their wants and needs as well as your own. A lot of things will change but it’s good to start having the discussion now before you have any babies.
Once the first baby arrives you will have plenty of other things to talk about!
19 – Plan your house
This might seem like a silly thing to include on the list but it’s a valid one. Usually you focus on buying a house before or after you get married but this is another important time in your life to consider your living space.
Babies and kids come with a lot of “stuff” so now is a good opportunity to ask yourself a few questions about the future. Being a parent comes with a lot of decisions so take the time now to think through some of the important decisions surrounding your living arrangements.
Think about things like:
- Do you need to move to a bigger home before the baby arrives or once he/she is ready to move into their own room?
- How many kids do you think you want total? This can help determine the number of bedrooms you will need.
- What’s your budget?
- What is the school system like?
This post was all about pregnancy tips trying to conceive.